Multiplayer network games have been around for a long time. Currently, many games, including both personal computer (PC) games and video console games (e.g., games run on game consoles such as Sony PlayStation®, PSP®, Nintendo Wii®, DS®, and Microsoft Xbox®), support at least one network mode or online-mode which allows multiple players to play in the same game environment at the same time over a network. In fact, some games are designed to be played online only. Games that can be played over a network or online can be found in almost all popular genres of videogames including, but not limited to, shooter (e.g., first-person and third-person), fighting, action-adventure, racing, sports, rhythm (e.g., music), strategy, and role-playing games (RPG). When playing in the online-mode, players can choose to play either in a competitive mode or a co-op mode, depending on the particular game. Typically, to initiate a game, each player logs onto a central server hosting the game on a network from their respective PCs or game consoles. For some games, the central game server may also provide a pairing service to allow players to find playing partners. A game session may start after all participating players have successfully joined and been authenticated by the server. Alternatively, some games allow players to join an ongoing game session after the game has already started.
Having an online mode is usually an advantage for most video games. Not only does it allow multiple gamers to play with or against each other in the same game session, it does so without requiring that they be in the same physical location or sharing the same display. With adequate network speed, gamers at different physical locations can battle each other in a game in real time as if they are sitting next to each other and playing the game from the same PC or game console. In fact, it is not uncommon to have players located in different parts of the world engaging each other in an online game session.
However, the online mode of most if not all currently available video games does not usually differ significantly from the corresponding local multi-players mode, except that in the local mode, the players typically share a screen divided into different windows, one for each player. That is, video games have traditionally been designed so that, in their multiplayer mode (local or online), every player shares the same virtual environment in which the game is being played. In particular, the visual appearances and movements of the characters and the visualization of the virtual environment of the game would appear the same to all players playing synchronously in the same game session. This may provide a level of consistency in the gaming experience among the different players. Nevertheless, there are inherent problems with presenting the same visualization of the game to all players, who in real life may be very different from one another, although they are participating in the same game session.
For example, certain contents in a game may be appropriate for players in a certain age group, but not for players in a different age group. A game rated “M 17+” containing extreme violent content may only be suitable for players over 17 years of age. As a result, an adult gamer and a minor may not be able to play against each other in the same game online As another example, players from different countries and/or with different cultural backgrounds may be attracted to games with different characters and settings due to their own respective backgrounds. For example, an Asian gamer may find a video game set in Asia and with characters from Asian animations more appealing while an American gamer may be more interested in games with a more western visual set and characters from, for example, the Marvel comics. However, as mentioned above, conventional video games are programmed as such that, when being played synchronously by multiple players, all players share the same virtual environment in the game including the characters, surroundings, and other types of content provided in the game. Because of the diversity among the potential players of any video game, especially the ones that support a multiplayer online mode, providing the same content to all players may not be ideal because of the appropriateness of the content to certain player demographics and the vastly different taste of the players. It can negatively affect the gaming experience for some of the players. Furthermore, it may significantly limit the potential market for a given video game.
Embodiments of this invention provide various solutions for the issues identified above.